Mesha Farland: Jacksonville Hailed a ‘Hero’ for Saving Family

A 4-year-old girl helped save her family from a burning home in the Paxon neighborhood of Jacksonville’s Westside on Thursday afternoon.

The pint-sized hero alerted her mother, two other adults and her 2-year-old brother that their house was on fire, allowing them all to get out safely.

Mesha Farland was the first person to see the fire break out about 1:30 p.m. inside the home on Rhonda Street near West First Street.

“When I was playing with my baby brother, I looked back and saw flames,” the girl told News4Jax. “There was a bunch of smoke everywhere.”

Mesha immediately ran to go tell her mom.

“I just walked in there. The wall was covered in flames. It was shooting up to the roof,” Amri Payne, Mesha’s mother said. “My first thing was to get the baby out of the crib and get everyone out of the house.”

A neighbor took cellphone video showing flames shooting from the windows as the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department battled the fire.

Coils from a bunk bed were all that was left in the room where the fire started. Throughout the home, ashes covered the floor.